The publication
Notes on buying, building and backing private companies. For readers who want to understand what sits beneath the headline.
A reading room for buying a business
Buying a company is a decision about the work you will own as much as the price you will pay. A listing offers a starting point. It cannot tell you everything about the customers, the people or the cash needed to keep the business running. This collection follows the questions that move a buyer from initial interest towards a properly examined proposition.
Start with the earnings. Establish what the reported figures include, what the seller has adjusted and what it would cost to replace the owner’s work. Then look beyond the profit and loss account. The timing of customer receipts, the condition of equipment and the terms of important contracts can matter just as much as a valuation multiple.
Funding and structure belong in the same conversation. Seller finance, deferred payments and borrowing change who carries which risks; they do not remove those risks. The Dispatches below explain the moving parts in plain English. Use the linked definitions when a term needs unpacking, and take qualified advice before making commitments. These are educational reading materials, not businesses offered for sale.
Buying a business
A value is not a fact waiting to be found. It is the answer to a question, and professional valuers ask three different questions to get one. Here is how to use all three before you put a figure in writing.
Buying a business
Most listings tell you what the seller wants you to see. Here is how to find what matters, and when to walk away before you waste a week.
Buying a business
Few buyers pay the whole price in cash on day one. Most deals are a stack of four or five sources. Here is each one, what it costs and what it asks of you.